Take Charge of Your Health: Free LapBand Seminar Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. | Health

There are many reasons a person can become obese. While the exact causes are still unknown, many factors, including genetic, environmental, and metabolic disorders, may contribute. Whether you have 30 or 100 pounds to lose, the important thing is: how you got here doesn’t really matter — it’s what you do next that counts.

According to Chad Saul, M.D., Surgeon at Laurel Surgery Clinic in Laurel, the Lap-Band is the tool that can help obese patients take charge of their weight—and their health. At times, it may seem the whole world has an opinion about your weight. Opinions aside, you probably already know: being obese isn't good for you. And you know better than anyone how excessive weight affects your life — how you look, how you feel, and the things you can or can't do. What you might not realize is that obesity can also affect how long you live. Carrying excess weight increases your risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other life-threatening medical conditions. “But it doesn’t have to — in fact, studies show significant weight loss may improve, or even resolve, these conditions. And the sooner you start taking control of your weight, the sooner you can take control of your health,” Dr. Saul said.

Many patients have tried to lose weight before, but gained it all back — only to try again. It can truly feel like a never-ending cycle. You should know: you’re not alone. Studies have shown that while people on traditional diet and exercise weight loss programs can lose weight, as much as 2/3 of that weight is regained within one year — and almost all of it within five years. The LAP-BAND® System can help you take it off — and keep it off.
Since every surgery comes with risk, it’s smart to know as much as you can about your options — particularly concerning safety. When it comes to the LAP-BAND® System, several studies show that adjustable gastric banding is one of the safer weight loss surgery options currently available in the United States. And the LAP-BAND® System is the only FDA-approved gastric banding system for people who are at least 30 pounds overweight, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) BMI of at least 30 kg/m and one or more obesity related co-morbid conditions.

With no cutting or stapling of the stomach, the LAP-BAND® System is up to 10 times safer than more extensive weight loss surgeries, such as gastric bypass or gastric sleeve. As effective as these procedures are, the LAP-BAND® System offers fewer risks and a generally faster recovery time — so you can be back to your normal activity in usually about a week’s time.

Dr. Saul said, “In most cases, the LAP-BAND® System is put into place during a laparoscopic procedure, using general anesthesia. The procedure is performed using long, thin instruments inserted through a few tiny incisions. Often done on an outpatient basis, the surgery itself typically takes about an hour.”

Step One: Your surgeon implants the LAP-BAND® System around the upper part of your stomach, much like a belt.

Step Two: A tube is then connected from the LAP-BAND® System to a small access port, fixed beneath the skin of your abdomen.

Step Three: After the first four to six weeks, adjustments to the LAP-BAND® System are made through the access port. This is done as needed — more frequently in the first year — to maintain optimal weight loss, by adding or removing saline solution.

Dr. Saul said, “It is important that the program include a variety of services including food and nutrition services, wellness services, counseling services, support groups, and more. Patients need to learn the proper ways to maintain a healthy life style.”

Surgeons like Dr. Saul who perform the LAP-BAND® System procedure have been trained and certified — meeting rigid standards for qualification. These standards include: They have demonstrated surgical and advanced laparoscopic skills. They have completed a special training course which is mandatory by the FDA, and they have performed several surgeries under the observation of an experienced Lap-Band System surgeon approved to “proctor” the case.

“There is nothing greater than seeing the changes in our patients a few weeks after surgery. They have a higher self esteem, they feel better, and some no longer have to take medications for health conditions they have taken for years,” Saul said.

Free seminars are available to learn more about the procedure. To find out more about the Lap-Band System or to sign up for the next seminar, call Laurel Surgery Clinic at 601.649.7802 and ask to speak to the Lap-Band surgery coordinator.